A Little Friday Fun

     The kids normally come home with me when I'm done working in the afternoon and then they start their nap a little later. Today I wanted to run some errands and still have Big Brother get his nap in (Froggie is still pretty content to nap anywhere) so I left him with my coworkers and headed out to get some things done.
     My first stop was lunch since I forgot to pack myself something. I ran through the drive through on my way out to the Peninsula. Why might I have been heading to the Peninsula you may ask? I had to pick up race packets for Hubby and I to run the Saint Patrick's Day 5K. Froggie snoozed away while I picked up our timing chips and shirts. When we were done there Froggie and I headed over to a nearby hotel where they were hosting the Kidsignment sale, a consignment sale that occurs twice a year as a fundraiser in our area.
     I was able to pick up some awesome deals for the kids and Froggie slept in the Ergobaby carrier almost the entire time. When we were all done there we headed back to pick up Big Brother and headed to the zoo to wait until Hubby was done working for the day.
     The weather had warmed up and I decided to let the kids walk around since we wouldn't be there very long. Visiting the lions went really well and then Froggie tried to climb in to see the ducks and Ibises. After seeing some of the animals inside we went outside and visited the giraffes and of course the ducks. (I'm pretty sure the ducks are Big Brother's favorite animal at the zoo) Big Brother was jumping in puddles and so Froggie decided to play in them too - by sitting in one! So with wet feet and tights we went to the adventure center to look at some more animals inside while we continued to wait for Hubby.

Froggie checking out the lion

trying to climb in

checking out the Ibises

Big Brother the penguin

Seeing how close he could get

conversing with the ducks

Big Brother's favorite duck (the white one)

     It was a nice surprise for the kids to go to the zoo today and they always seem to have a lot of fun when we can be out of the house!

Welcome Back to the Wild

     Today was opening day of our local zoo! It's nice that the zoo is back open because it gives us another thing to add to our list of activities to do and it gets us back outside. It's been really cold again lately (isn't is supposed to be warming up?) and Hubby said that it was going to be too cold to go to opening day. I decided that it was warmer than it has been and we've been coped up too long so we packed extra blankets and dressed warmly and headed out. Hubby met us there when he was done working and my mom came with us as well.
     It actually wasn't too bad temperature wise and even though not all of the animals were out I'm glad we went and that the kids got to have some fun.

Happy Big Brother

Sleepy Froggie

Big Brother and grandma

up close and personal with the lion

up close and personal with the lion

up close and personal with the lion

Froggie wanted to see the lion too

all bundled up

the swans hanging out on the ice

Todd the 55 year old turtle

Big Brother checking out the turtle

Froggie the popcorn monster

Froggie the popcorn monster

our little family at the zoo

Happy Froggie

     Hubby and I also had a "date night". We don't go out often but friends of ours from the Navy had invited us to dinner and so we headed out to have dinner with them at a local Mexican restaurant and then after that some of us stopped by Menchies for dessert (it's a frozen yogurt bar!). It was nice to get out and socialize and not have to worry about how the kids were behaving and whether they were bored or not.

November Challenge: Day 15 & 16

     I'm thankful for my mom and my sister. Without them I wouldn't go on most of the crazy adventures  they drag me on. Most recently we were taken out to the zoo for their annual Animal art show and sale! It's as crazy as it sounds… Throughout the year the animals do artwork with the zoo staff and then they set up a show and have demonstrations of animals making art.

A painting hedgehog

Watching a painting hedgehog

A painting snake

Watching a painting snake

His artwork

Zoo Boo Part 2

     Thanks to the graciousness of one of my co-workers we were able to return to Zoo Boo this evening. There was no rain and it was a pretty standard fall evening. We got there a little earlier than we had last week and were able to make it through the zoo in about an hour and a half. We didn't ride the carousel or train tonight though which is probably why it didn't take us as long.

Finally got that picture of the kids

Froggie

Big Brother

checking out the rhino

bean bag toss

Sleepy Froggie

Trick or Treating

Cold enough for hot chocolate

The talking Pumpkin

Zoo Boo 2013

     Since the weather doesn't look so great for the rest of the week we decided to head to Zoo Boo at our local zoo this evening. I did some running around after work and picked up dinner so we could eat dinner in Hubby's office and get geared up.

     Big Brother was REALLY excited to dress up as Iron Man though the promise of the zoo AND candy to a 2 year old pretty much did it before Iron Man was even involved. We've gone in a the past with Big Brother but I think this year was, by far, our best year. The decision to go tonight was a last minute one after I looked at the forecast. Despite trying to have everything packed up we were missing a few things. We picked up some lighted bracelets and Big Brother picked out a mask for me. 

     We ran through the drive thru on our way to the center and had dinner in Hubby's office while everyone got changed and ready to drive down the street. It was a struggle to find parking and we arrived less than half an hour after Zoo Boo started. I took some pictures of the kids while we waited for Hubby to come over and meet us from the other parking area. 

     Upon entry you're given a bag and tickets which you turn in for treats. Though Froggie wasn't supposed to get anything the nice women at the gate gave her one. We walked around and collected our treats while checking out the animals. We also rode the carousel and train before the wind picked up and the rain started. We got everyone packed up just as the rain began to fall a little harder. 

     Overall it was a great night and my little Iron Man even got up and danced with a bunch of kids and did the Cha Cha Slide! He even did well with the left and right directions. 

Posing before we went into the zoo

Posing before we went into the zoo

Posing before we went into the zoo

In the zoo, ready to go!

Trading tickets for treats

Watching the Polar Bear

Walking with Hubby

Dancing with the other kids

The back of Froggie's costume

IronMan riding the carousel

Sleepy Froggie and I on the carousel

Family picture!

Froggie feeding herself some dinner

The kids and I

Snuggling while we wait for the train

riding the train

The Kids posing before we left

Love this one!